キャッチャーキャッチャー: Catcher Catcher
by ShikiKira
Summary: With her journey over, Kagome re-assimilates herself and continues her original life in the modern era. To keep her mind off the sudden end of her adventures, she re-immerses in her life-long passion of baseball. Now if only her family would let her be and the Japanese High School Baseball Federation would stop discriminating against her.
1. New Player

**Catcher Catcher**

 **Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own either Inuyasha or Ace of Diamond

 **Summary:** With her journey over, Kagome re-assimilates herself and continues her original life in the modern era. To keep her mind off the sudden end of her adventures, she re-immerses in her life-long passion of baseball. Now if only her family would let her be and the Japanese High School Baseball Federation would stop discriminating against her.

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

" **Foreign Language"**

* * *

"Are these all of the new recruits?" Oota Kazuyoshi, the president of Seidou High School's baseball club, asked.

"Not quite," Takashima Rei, the club's vice-president, spoke. "We're currently missing the player Kataoka-kantoku personally scouted, but altogether we have thirty new members and a few manager candidates."

"Kantoku personally scouted someone?!" the burly man exclaimed.

"Ah, a Higurashi-Hoshikawa Kagome, if I recall correctly," the club scout stated as she pushed up her glasses. "Kataoka-kantoku, are you sure it's wise to keep a player that doesn't attend the first day of practice?"

"Ah, her mother contacted me recently, and due to an injury, she won't be participating practice until May at the earliest."

"She?!" Oota sputtered as he attempted to wrap his mind around the fact.

"Eh? A girl? Is that even allowed?" the club's official scout gasped. Having never kept up with news about female baseball players, the English teacher was just as surprised as the club's president.

"It is."

"I'm sorry if I'm stepping out of line, Kataoka-kantoku, but don't you think it's a mistake to let a girl join the team as a player? As a girl she'll be weaker and slower than the boys. And with our practices, it's unlikely she'll be able to keep up," President Oota stated once he snapped out of his shock. "Not to mention, she'll be starting a month later than everyone else."

"That won't be a problem. Having personally seen her train and play, I can confidently say that she won't have any problems keeping up. But with that way of thinking, you and the players ought to prepare yourselves. Girl or not, Kagome isn't the type of player that should be taken lightly of," the head coach warned with a hard stare at his fellow teachers.

"I-I suppose," the stoutly man stuttered.

"That is also why I would like to request the both of you to only call her Hoshikawa while she is in uniform and Higurashi during lessons. Despite being a talented player, the other members would only hold themselves back during practices if they learn of Kagome's gender before she is able to prove herself," the Soul Ace requested.

"Of course, Kataoka-kantoku," Takashima agreed, her glasses glaring from the light of the afternoon sun. "But what is Higurashi-san going to do over the next month if she's not going to be at practice?"

"During her recovery period, Kagome will be undergoing strict physical therapy with a private trainer. And although she cannot actively participate in practice, I've instructed her to come and act as one of the club's managers for the time being so she could get a feel for her teammates," the head coach informed.

"I see…" the busty woman muttered before re-directing the club faculty meeting. "And what do you think of the other new members, Kataoka-kantoku, Oota-buchou? Particularly Miyuki Kazuya-kun and Kuramochi Yoichi-kun."

"Oh! Your favorites from this year's crop," the history teacher recognized. "The catcher and shortstop you scouted from Edogawa Senior and Chiba prefecture."

"Eh," Takashima confirmed. "Miyuki-kun's a talented catcher with a strong shoulder and skills that could rival Chris-kun's, and Kuramochi-kun has the speed and talent to be Seidou's next leadoff man."

With the discussion off the controversial addition, the three teachers went on with their daily club review as the vice-president gave a more in depth profile of each new club member.

* * *

Closing the door to the staff room, President Oota couldn't help but sigh. Even after the long discussion the three faculty members had about the team and the first-years, he still couldn't get his mind off the team's only female member. "Just what was the head coach thinking?"

"I'm not sure myself, but let's trust the coach's judgement. Hoshikawa-kun must be an incredible player if Kataoka-kantoku went and recruited them himself," Takashima suggested as she adapted to the name and pronoun usage. It was best build the habit early on less she slip in front club members later.

"I guess… but still! There's no way a girl could keep up with our practices," Oota, ever the pessimist, persisted as he and Takashima made their way downstairs. "Even if she's an amazing player, there's absolutely no way an injured players is ever going to be able to catch up on a month of missed practices," he complained loudly.

"Oota-buchou," the bespectacled woman hissed in warning.

It was already late, nearing midnight, and a majority of the residents at Seidou Spirit Dorms were already asleep or prepping for bed.

"Oh right… Sorry," the club's president apologized sheepishly. "I wasn't really thinking…"

"Please be careful. I realize you're upset about the head coach's decision, but don't let your own bias interfere with the team," the English teacher admonished. "The other players are trying to rest for tomorrow's morning practice."

"Of course," the stout man conceded as the pair descended the dormitory's stairwell. "At least we might be getting a good pitcher, if she can keep up," he grumbled as he tried to look on the bright side.

Unbeknownst to the two departing instructors, two players had overheard parts of their conversation.

As soon as the teachers were out of earshot, the door to door 210 cracked open as a male with a Kansai dialect spoke. "So one of our rumored genius first-years is going to be a late comer, eh? And a girl at that." Although the player's face couldn't be seen, the smirk on his face and the interest in his voice was unmistakable. "This is going to be an interesting year," the player cackled before re-closing his room's door.

From downstairs a similar scene played out as a first-year stepped out of the restroom.

"Eh? A new pitcher, huh?" The catcher's excitement was almost palpable, peaking as the fifteen-year-old went over his good fortune. "A genius pitcher in my year and a catcher like Chris-senpai to learn from. What more could I ask for?"

He grinned in unrestrained glee at the thought of forming a battery with the new pitcher, completely ignorant of the rumored player's gender. "I hope he joins practice soon," he said with an eager smile as he practically skipped upstairs to his room.

It had been a while since he had formed a good battery with a talented pitcher. Narumiya Mei had of course been a great partner when they had been on the Samurai Japan U-15 team (U-15 National Baseball Team), and he had greatly appreciated the invitation to join Inashiro Jitsugyou with him, but he would much rather face Mei's dream team than be on it. It'd be even better if he could do it with a strong team of his own with hopefully an even better pitcher.

* * *

 **AN:** So I started a new story when I should be finishing the revision for _The Duel Champion's Daughter_. Anyways I hope you enjoy the first chapter, and like in _Tennis Revolution_ I will be listing some fun facts about baseball. Particularly baseball in Japan.

 **Dugout:** The only people allowed in the dugout are the 18-20 official players, their coaches, their managers, and their bat person and ball person.

 **Bat girl/boy:** they're not official members on the team, but they are among the few people allowed in the dugout during games. They collect the batter's bat once the batter starts running for first base.


	2. Only Girl

**Catcher Catcher**

 **Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own either Inuyasha or Ace of Diamond

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

" **Foreign Language"**

* * *

Drumming her fingers a top her desk, Kagome waited impatiently for the exam to end.

It was the first day of the new school year, and the teacher's at her new school were already giving the students a series of assessment exams. The exams were to test where each student stood in accordance to their grade level, and how much material they still retained from the last term.

She, herself, had completed the last exam about ten minutes ago, and was now only waiting for class to end for the day.

Thanks to her cousin Eishi and the tutors her maternal grandmother had hired for her, she wasn't as far behind her year mates as she should have been. But she wasn't sure the constant tutoring during her month long hospitalization was really worth it.

Deciding that it wasn't worth thinking about, she opted to do the breathing exercises she was instructed to do several times a day.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome winced as her torso muscles were put to work. She tried to hold the breath for ten seconds before releasing it and repeating the exercise.

Due to the combined injuries she had sustained from the final battle against Naraku and the incident that occurred shortly after her return, the raven had a difficult time breathing. Nearly each and every breath she took made her torso ache, but it was nowhere near as painful as when she initially been injured. Nor did it compare to the excruciating pain she had felt from some of the other injuries she had had before, but it did still hurt a bit to breathe.

She bit down on her lower lip as a sharp pain sliced through her chest fromasudden muscle spasm. A whimper practically ripped itself from her throat as the pain briefly intensified before subsiding.

With short breaths, Kagome concentrated some of her reiryoku to her chest. She was more than grateful when her powers were able to lessen the throbbing pain to a dull ache.

When she had first tried to heal herself during her hospitalization, she had been more than a little surprised when it had actually worked. At that time, she had believed that reiryoku only allowed her to fight and to heal others but not herself. And even though she had been able to heal herself, she had found that she couldn't completely fix herself, but she was able to briefly accelerate her healing factor and ease the pain she suffered.

She'd never tell her family, but she very much appreciated her spiritual powers. She might not be able to do much with it in the modern era because of her career goals, but she was grateful for all she had been able to do with it. And if it wasn't for her careful usage of her spiritual powers, the hospital she had stayed at would probably be running tests on her or she'd still be hospitalized for her multiple injuries.

Withdrawing her energy from the injured area, the raven breathed a sigh of relief as her homeroom teacher called an end to the exam.

' _Just a little longer,'_ Kagome chanted to herself as she passed up her test paper.

As soon as Egami-sensei, class 1-B's homeroom teacher, had dismissed the class for the day the raven was out the door with her bag over her shoulder.

Stepping into the floor's restroom, she immediately pulled out three packs of pills from her school bag. With a pill popped out from each set, the fifteen-year-old quickly swallowed her medication with some water she had purchased during lunch.

"Only a few more days of these," she huffed while looking down at her pills. "Just a little longer until I can get off of them."

Even though she could accelerate her healing factor and ease the pain she felt, she still needed to take medication for her injuries. Healing herself took large amounts of stamina and reiryoku, and she could only heal herself for short time periods. If she tried healing herself too often, she found that she'd overexert not just her spiritual abilities but also her entire body. She wasn't supposed to strain herself while she was still recovering or else she'd just extend the healing time; and she definitely didn't want that.

Stuffing her belongings back in her bag, Kagome quickly left the restroom and made her way to her pre-arranged meeting.

* * *

Coach Kataoka had only just finished changing into his baseball club uniform when he heard a knock at his door. Already knowing who it was, he invited the person in.

A head of long raven tresses poked their head in through the now open doorway as the person asked, "You wanted to talk to me, Kataoka-sensei?"

"Ah," the head coach acknowledged. "How are you feeling, Kagome?"

"A lot better than when you last saw me, but not enough to be back on the field yet," the former time traveler admitted. "Hinamori-sensei said that if I'm good with my therapy, I may be able to join practice earlier than she expected."

"That's all good to hear, but you won't be allowed to practice until you have the all clear. For now, go change into your uniform," he instructed as he slipped his shoes on. "You'll be meeting the team's managers and our captain."

"Of course," the teenager answered with some hesitation. She didn't mind meeting the team's managers as she would be working with them until she could participate in practice, but was it really okay to meet the captain so soon? She didn't want any of the other players to know her gender before she could prove herself, and it wasn't like she was could bind her chest down right now.

Seeming to know what she was thinking, the former pitcher called out to his only female player. "Only bind your chest if your doctor allows it, Kagome. Otherwise wear your jersey over the uniform."

"Yes, Kantoku," she agreed before heading to the nearby restroom to change. With its lock and the other members changing in the club room or their dorm room, she supposed she would be safe changing in there.

It didn't take her long to find the restroom downstairs; it was in the same place she had remembered it being from all her past visits. Kagome didn't waste any time in changing into the baseball club's uniform. With the spare bobby pins she carried, she pinned her long hair down in a faux short style, being extra careful to make it look as natural as possible.

Staring at her reflection, she couldn't help but think that she didn't make a very convincing boy. Even though her bangs hid her eyes, her still looked too feminine. And with half her face hidden, her hair only emphasized the smallness of her face and made her appear more doll-like than she already did.

' _I might to have to find another style soon,'_ the raven thought as she examined her hair. _'It doesn't look like it'll hold very long without my cap. Maybe I can get Ei-chan to help me before he leaves for school tomorrow,'_ she wondered as she shrugged on the club's red and black jersey jacket.

When she returned to the office, she saw that four more had joined the head coach. Knocking on the opened door, she announced her return.

"Managers, Hitomi, this is the player I wanted you to meet," Kataoka stated as he beckoned for Kagome to approach. "Hoshikawa K., a pitcher and catcher from Shirashi Senior. K, this is Hitomi Masaru, the team's captain and our managers, Masaoka Akiko, Inaba Kyoko, and Fujiwara Takako," the language arts teacher introduced.

"Shirashi Senior? Wasn't that the team that won nationals and worlds the last several years?" Masaoka muttered to get her year mate.

"I think so, but didn't a majority of their players decide to go to Teito or another school outside of Tokyo?" Inaba whispered back.

"Hoshikawa K?" Hitomi blinked as he tried to rack his mind for why the name sounded so familiar. He already knew that the teams from Shirashi Senior were ridiculously strong, having lost to them on multiple occasions in elementary school and junior high, but he couldn't for the life of him recognize the name.

"He's a new member of the team, right, Kantoku?" the captain said at last. Receiving a confirmation, he continued with his question. "If he's a new member of the team, why wasn't he here during the first-years' introduction?"

"Until recently, K. has been in the hospital due to an incident early last month. Because of that and the injuries he had sustained, he is currently undergoing physical therapy and won't be joining practice until May at the latest," the coach explained.

"Understood, Kantoku," the third-year captain accepted before turning to the newest recruit. "It'll be a pleasure having you on the team, Hoshikawa. Heal up soon so we can play together."

"Thank you, captain. I look forward to playing with and learning from you this year," Kagome returned, her voice startling the older player.

 _'He looks and sounds like a girl,'_ the third-year thought as he fought down his blush. Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside. There was no way their coach was going to let a girl join the team. And even if their head coach did let a girl on the team, there was no way she'd be able to keep up with the team's practices.

"If that's all, Kantoku, I'll go get the team warmed up for practice," Hitomi said, excusing himself from the room.

Kataoka waited until his player had closed the door behind him before he addressed the remaining club members. "Managers."

"Uh… yes, Kataoka-sensei," the second-year and third-years answered simultaneously.

"For the remaining duration of her physical therapy, K will be working alongside you as a manager," the head coach announced. "You'll show her what she'll be doing during her time with you."

"She?" "Her?" the three managers asked each other in confusion.

"Allow me to re-introduce myself, senpai-tachi," Kagome spoke as she steeled forward. "Hajimemashita, I'm Hoshikawa K, better known as Higurashi-Hoshikawa Kagome, Seido's only female player," she smirked.

* * *

 **AN:** In the next chapter's fun facts, you'll learn why the summary mentions discrimination.

 **Fun Fact 1:** During tournaments and depending on the tournament, each baseball team may enter a team roster consisting of either 18 players or a max 20 players. For instance, the Spring Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament, Kanto Tournament, Summer Koshien Prefecture Qualifying Tournaments, Autumn/Fall Tournament, and the Meiji Jingu Tournament all allow a team roster of 20 players. On the other hand, tournaments like Spring Koshien/Senbatsu/Spring Invitational and Summer Koshien/National Baseball High School Championship only allow a max of 18 players on each team roster. Aside from these school/government established tournaments, there are also games and teams where the team roster can have a maximum of 40-50 players (e.g. the Tokyo team for the friendship match against USA's national baseball team).

 **Team Roster –** the team roster are the players/members of a club/team who have been chosen to compete in tournaments and are thus the players that are on the bench. In Japan, the players who make up the team roster are also the 18-20 players who make up their club's First-String. Only players who are on the team roster may play during tournaments; changes cannot be made while a tournament is in session. Once the team roster has been submitted to the tournament committee, it cannot be changed until the next tournament. **An example of this is during the Spring Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament of Act I when Masuko Toru was removed from the starting line-up and demoted to the Second-String; however, he was allowed to continue playing in the tournament, but only as a reserve or substitute player.**


	3. Manager?

**Catcher Catcher**

 **Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own either Inuyasha or Ace of Diamond

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

" **Foreign Language"**

* * *

"Oi Miyuki, isn't that Higurashi from our class?" first-year shortstop, Kuramochi Yoichi, asked his classmate while pointing in the direction of the baseball club's managers. "What's she doing here?"

"Huh? That is her," Miyuki Kazuya, a catcher and one of the club's rumored genius rookies, confirmed in slight bafflement. After the last couple of weeks, he was just as surprised as his teammate to see their classmate at their club practice. "And she's obviously one of our managers," he rebuffed the other genius.

"I can see that, ya jerk! But isn't it weird to see her at an athletic club of all things?" Kuramochi questioned. "After all, Higurashi doesn't show up to class half the time or do anything in P.E. besides walk around reading a book."

"Now that you mention it," the catcher paused for a moment to think. "… It is a little weird. I don't think I've ever seen her at practice before today or anything either."

"Oi, Watanabe," the shortstop called out to another of his teammates. "Did you know Higurashi was in the club?"

"Higurashi-san?" a slender, but intelligent looking boy asked. "Oh, she's usually here during morning practices and sometimes before afternoon practice," the oldest of the class 1-B boys confirmed. "It really surprised me the first time I saw her here, but she's a very good manager."

Looking back over at the supposed club manager, Miyuki couldn't keep his interest from piquing. If Higurashi was good enough of a manager that even Watanabe was praising her, maybe she could even help the team out with more than just nutrition and equipment needs.

* * *

Placing down the box she had been carrying, Kagome sighed in relief as she stretched out her muscles. It had been a little over two weeks since school had started, and her doctor had given her the okay to do more strenuous activities. Thanks to her trainer and physical therapist, she had gained back a decent amount of the strength she had lost during the weeks she had spent bedridden in the hospital.

She'd probably be in even better shape if her maternal family hadn't decided to implement the rest of her punishment on her. Honestly, cutting her off from contacting any of her friends for two months was already bad enough, but whose bright idea was it to force her to take on a job that made her miss school anyways? She was being punished for missing too much school; she shouldn't be punished by making her miss even more! Plus the stress of working with and managing idol groups was in no way beneficial towards her recovery.

Scowling a little, the raven hefted up the box she had just placed down and proceeded to carry it to the B Ground's dugout.

"Kagome-chan!" a voice snapped behind her, startling the still injured girl and making her nearly drop her load. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Ah, Masaoka-senpai, Inaba-senpai," the Hoshikawa scion breathed in relief. "You startled me."

Walking up to the younger girl, the third year quickly secured the box and took it from Kagome's grasp. "Never mind that. We told you take it easy," Akiko scolded. "And it's fine to call us by our names, Kagome-chan."

"We're delighted that you've been so helpful to us in supporting the team and everything, but you're still recovering from your injuries," Kyoko reprimanded from beside the other third year. "You want to start practicing with the others soon, don't you?" Seeing a nod, the red-haired manager continued. "Then let us and the other managers handle the harder tasks, and you can focus on getting better for the team."

"If you really want to help, you can help Yui-chan and Sachiko-chan clean the baseballs or make drinks for the team," Takako said as she came up from behind the third-years. "They're both light tasks that you can finish quickly."

"Takako, let the other two first-years handle that. They're the ones who are going to be managers, not her. It'd be better for the team if Kagome-chan could go over and help us revise or even re-write the scorebooks in a way that's easier for the players to understand," Akiko suggested.

"But doesn't Kyoko-senpai manage the scorebooks?" the second-year questioned. "And unlike the rest of us, Kagome-chan hasn't attended her first game yet."

"That's true, but unlike us, Kagome-chan is an actual baseball player," Kyoko reminded as she led the way to the equipment room. "I may understand baseball the most out of the managers, but that doesn't beat the knowledge and experience of a player. Plus, a person doesn't have to attend the games to revise or write the scorebook. They can just watch the recordings or make a better recording system, right Kagome-chan?"

"A-ahh," the raven stuttered. "Kataoka-kantoku's been letting me borrow the videos to watch at home. So I've been able to keep up with the team's progress through the Spring Tournament. I'm really looking forward to watching my first game in person."

"That reminds me," Akiko said as she set down the box she had taken from the first-year. "Kagome-chan, do you think you can make it to the next three games? They're the last rounds before the Kanto Tournament, and we'd really appreciate it if you could help with scouting the opposing teams. We're gonna need all the data we can get to go to Kanto."

"Akiko-senpai!"

"Um… Fujiwa—I mean… Takako-senpai, I appreciate your concern, but I really don't mind re-doing the scorebooks for the team. It'll help me understand how the team plays better, and I've been meaning to take a look at how it for a while now," Kagome placated before responding to her other upperclassman. "And Akiko-senpai, I think I'll be able to go to the next few games. And if we need to film the other possible opponents, I can probably help with that."

' _Those stupid guards can at least make themselves useful in that,'_ she mentally grumbled, hopeful to be free of bodyguards for a day or two. She knew her maternal grandparents meant well, but she hated that they had forced bodyguards on her and had promptly rejected her objections about being able to take care of herself. _'Well… after the last two terms, I wouldn't be inclined to believe me either if I were them…'_

"Really?" Kyoko exclaimed. "It'd be such a great help if you could. I always feel kind of bad asking the club members to scout the other teams whenever we have conflicting match times."

"It won't be a problem. There are some people I know who'd be more than happy to help," the raven assured as she lied through her teeth, knowing full well that her guards wouldn't do this without a fight.

"That's great! We can get even more data on the other rival teams," Akiko smiled before she started directing everyone as the head manager she was. "Kyoko, Takako and I can handle the rest of the morning practice preparation on our own. So why don't you take Kagome-chan and work on the scorebooks together?"

"That's fine with me," the brunette shrugged as she placed a hand on the first-year's shoulder. "Let's go get your things and get a head start on those notes and scorebooks," the third-year grinned as she led her underclassman away.

* * *

"So this is our scorebook for all the recent games our team has played in, and these," Kyoko stated as she dropped a pile of books on the desk. "Are all our scorebooks and notes on all the teams we may end up playing against."

Kagome could only stare incredulously at the various notebooks that had been dumped in front of her. Was she really supposed to go through and revise all of those on her own? Given her limited free time, she was certain she wouldn't even be able to finish a quarter of the revisions by the next tournament.

Seeing her underclassman's alarmed expression, the third-year quickly tried to clear up any misunderstandings. "Of course we don't expect you to revise all the notes and scorebooks. That'd take way too long. You can just do the ones related to the upcoming games and our last one. It'd really help the team if you can get through those first. And if you have any questions or need clarification on anything, feel free to ask me or Akiko about it, alright?"

"Un," the raven nodded in understanding as she placed her own set of scorebooks on the table.

"Great! I'll just organize these a little bit before I head back," the brunette announced as she began separating the books.

The blue-eyed teen absentmindedly nodded her head as she set herself to work. It was going to take a while to get through each of the scorebooks and their corresponding notebooks and compare them with what she had on each team. Sighing at her increased workload, Kagome grabbed the book set from the last game, and flipped them both to the first page.

Minutes passed in near perfect silence, the only sounds being the flipping of pages and the shuffling of feet, as the pair worked on their given tasks.

Even as she divided the scorebooks and notebooks by school and date, the manager would shoot occasional glances at the first-year. Finishing up the last stack of books, Kyoko couldn't help but watch as Kagome flipped page after of the page of the two books she was analyzing.

Feeling unnerved by the staring, the raven called out to the upperclassman. "Is something the matter, Kyoko-senpai?"

"Hmm, not really. I just forgot to ask you something when we were with the others," the brown-eyed girl replied as she propped herself up on top of the stack of books she had just finished organizing. "Are you going to be able to make it to tomorrow's practice?"

"I'm not sure about morning practice, but I don't have therapy or any work scheduled for tomorrow, so I should be able to come help. But I might be a bit late to the afternoon practice," Kagome answered as she compared her own scorebook and notes to the ones taken by her upperclassmen.

"Late? Why? Club practice starts half an hour after lessons end, so there really isn't a reason to be late. Do the teachers need to talk to you about something?" the manager asked curiously. "And why tomorrow?"

"Uun, there's a delivery I have to pick up, and it's going to take a while to get it where I need it," the first-year explained, grabbing a blank scorebook that Kyoko had placed near her.

"Is that all?"

"I think so. The delivery shouldn't take me too long, maybe an hour or so at most."

"Alright then, I'll let Akiko know," Kyoko said as she made to leave the commentator's box. "Just be careful with yourself, and take it easy. We don't want you getting another injury. Ah, and if you need to leave early just put the books back or if you want to borrow them for the day, just let Takashima-sensei or Kataoka-kantoku know," she added before heading out.

Kagome barely acknowledged the older girl's parting words before the upperclassman was gone. With the third-year gone, she turned her full attention back to the baseball data she had been placed in charge of.

"Now how can I make this better and in a way that even an utter moron can understand?" she grumbled to herself as she tapped her pencil against her temple. Seeming to have made up her mind, the unofficial Seido baseball club member dove a hand into her bag and dug out her pencil case. Picking out a set of colored pencils, she quickly set to work on making the revised scorebook.

* * *

Hearing the ring of her temporary cell phone, Kagome sighed as she dropped her pencil and went to pick up the call. Knowing that it meant she would be leaving sooner than expected, she quickly packed up her stationery and answered her phone. "Moshi moshi? Higurashi speaking."

"Yes, I know. I was just packing up my belongings. What? Of course. I'll be ready to leave in a few minutes. I just need to speak with one of the coaches before I can go. I'll see you in a few Hirasaki-san."

Ending the call, the raven began shelved each of the books she hadn't used. With her belongings and final scorebook in hand, Kagome went in search of the head coach or one of the other club faculty members.

Finding one of the staff, the miko called out to them. "Takashima-sensei," she greeted as she approached the English teacher, who stood behind the fence surrounding the B ground.

"Oh, Higurashi-san," Takashima returned, surprise coloring her voice. "Did you need something?"

"Yes, I wanted to ask if I could borrow the scorebook for the games against Teito, Seiko, and Ichidaisan for the night. If not, I can just take a picture of them."

"I don't see why not, but any reason why?" the older woman blinked.

"Akiko-senpai and Kyoko-senpai asked to me look over and revise the notes and scorebooks, but I'm getting picked up earlier than expected so I can't finish revising everything during today's practice."

"There's really no one else who looks at it besides the catchers and the coaches, and it's a few days too early for that, so I don't see any problem with you borrowing it until tomorrow. Just be careful and bring it back sometime tomorrow."

"Thank you, Takashima-sensei, and I'll see you tomorrow," Kagome bowed once to the teacher before heading back out to inform Coach Kataoka of her early leave.

As soon as she finished speaking with the head coach, the raven quickly changed back into her uniform and headed to the school gates to meet up with the head of her security team.

"Kagome-ojou-sama," Hirasaki Tsuyoshi greeted the moment he saw the Hoshikawa heiress had arrived at the school entrance.

"Hirasaki-san," the teenager returned. "Let's get going before Koshiro-oji-sama starts calling," she sighed as stepped into the waiting armored car.

"Of course," the head of security agreed quietly, shutting the door behind him as he sat down beside his charge. He gestured for his subordinate to start driving to the next location on the day's itinerary.

The drive to the Hoshikawa Group's company building was shrouded in heavy silence. Kagome's disgruntlement at having to see her maternal uncle and being forced to be escorted everywhere by protective services weighed greatly on her team of bodyguards.

Knowing that her sulky attitude wasn't going to help her in anyway, the baseball player sighed as she decided to break the silence. "Hirasaki-san, Kawashita-san, do you know why my grandmother and uncle called for this sudden meeting?"

"My apologies, Kagome-ojou-sama, I wasn't given any details when Koshiro-shachou arranged the meeting," Kawashita Nene, the heiress's personal bodyguard and secretary, answered. "But the president had insisted that it was important and that you come in as soon as possible."

Mulling over the possible reasons for the meeting, Kagome sighed as she gave up on figuring it out. She'll find out when she got to the office.

"If that's all Kagome-ojou-sama, I suggest you get some rest while you can. It'll be some time before we reach the main office. You have a busy day ahead of you, and I don't expect you'll be able to return to your residence early tonight. Not to mention you returned home late last night and left your residence before six this morning," the secretary insisted. As if on cue a yawn escaped the blue-eyed girl; her exhaustion from her busy schedule was as clear as day.

"Thank you, Kawashita-san," the heiress said as she took up her bodyguard's suggestion and instructed the older woman to wake her up shortly before they would arrive.

* * *

Hours after Kagome had left, the baseball club finally reached the half-way point of their afternoon practice, and the members have been instructed to take a break before the start of the second half.

Takashima and the other baseball coaches were just beginning their discussion of the day's practice so far and how the players were growing when a knock sounded on the office room's door.

"Come in," the head coach called out as the discussion came to a halt.

"Kataoka-kantoku, Oota-buchou, Rei-chan," Miyuki greeted as he entered the small office. "Sorry for the intrusion," he quickly apologized at seeing all three staff members.

"Miyuki-kun?" the English teacher gasped, surprised by her favorite recruits appearance. "Did you need something?"

"Uh… Yes," the catcher hesitated for moment. Even though it had been more than three weeks since he had entered the team, the Modern Japanese teacher still made him nervous. "I was wondering if I could look over the scorebook from the previous game."

The coaches turned silent at the fifteen-year-old's request, preferring to listen to catcher speak as they shared a look amongst themselves.

"I know it's earlier than when we normally review the previous game and I may be presumptuous to think I'll even play in the upcoming games, but I'd like to be of as much use to the team as possible. To do that I need to know the team's strengths and weaknesses better than I know my own," the brunette rambled on, somewhat nervous.

Before the first-year could further persuade the coaches, the head coach cut him off. "Miyuki."

"Yes, kantoku."

"While it's commendable to prepare for the team so early, I can't allow you to see the scorebook today," Kataoka informed.

"What? Why?" the bespectacled teen sputtered out, surprised by the rejection.

"We'd love to let you review it, but the scorebook isn't here at the moment. We already allowed Higurashi-san borrow it for the revision," Takashima explained. "So you'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon or ask her to borrow it beforehand."

"Revising? And Higurashi?" the brunette blurted out, flabbergasted. He knew that the third-year managers took care of and marked the scorebook during games, but he and the other players have always had to re-do them during post-game meetings. _'I thought she'd be good manager, but I didn't think she'd get the jump on me like this.'_

"Yes, revising. Masaoka-san and Inaba-san asked her to revise to scorebooks so it'll be more useful for the players. And if I remember right, I believe she's in your class, Miyuki-kun," the twenty-five-year-old teacher hummed, remembering the few times the club's only female player was in her class.

She'd really have to talk to her student and her parents soon about the girl's multitude of absences. It was fine to miss a day or two a week since the player was overcoming a long bout of illnesses and a serious injury, but to miss more than half the three weeks that school has been in session is just plain ridiculous.

"Oh... Um… I guess I'll just get back to practice now," the first-stringer excused himself, sensing he may have unknowingly touched a subject he probably shouldn't have. Apologizing again for intruding on the staff meeting, Miyuki hastily made his exit and headed off to the fields.

' _Watanabe and the upperclassmen acknowledge her skills, and the coaches trust her knowledge of baseball enough to lend her the scorebook. Higurashi, you're getting more interesting by the minute,'_ the catcher thought as he made his Ground A, where the other first-stringers were still practicing. A smirk graced his face as he wondered what else his classmate would be able to help the team with.

Thinking about his often gone classmate ultimately lead to the thoughts on the still missing club member.

' _Ugh! Why is he taking so long to get here?!'_ he grumbled almost miserably, wanting to meet his future battery mate as soon as possible and his impatience beginning to eat at him. Was the pitcher ever going to show up?

Cutting off his negativity before it could fester further, Miyuki turned his thoughts to a more positive outlook. And at the mere thought how the rest of high school career was going to be, he couldn't prevent an excited grin from breaking out across his lips.

' _An actually useful manager, and a rumored genius pitcher in all in the same year as me! And I get learn from Chris-senpai for the next two years! How much luckier can I get?'_ he thought happily as he nearly skipped the last few steps to where his teammates stood.

* * *

 **Fun Fact 2:** While girls are allowed to play on their school's baseball club and be on their team's bench/roster, they are actually forbidden from playing on the field during both practice and official games. Although they are banned from playing, girls have been known to play during practice matches if the opposing team's coach gives his consent. Otherwise, female players are not allowed on the field except for the two times the teams meet before and after a game. Prior to that, women were altogether prohibited from being on the field other than to provide the teams with food and water. And as of August 2016 with the incident involving the manager of the Oita prefecture team, there is still a ban in place that prohibits women from setting foot on the Koushien grounds; effectively making it the only baseball field in Japan that is male-only. Women are not even allowed on the Koushien field at any given time.

 **Batting Lineup –** the batting lineup consists of the nine players who are currently playing the game. Unless the person is a pinch hitter, a player cannot bat unless they are one of the nine members currently playing in the game.

 **Uniform Numbers** – the numbers are attached to the back of a player's uniform. In high school baseball, there is a total of 20 numbers. Numbers 1-9 represent the First-String's starting player/lineup as well as the position each starter plays: 1) ace pitcher, 2) catcher, 3) first baseman, 4) second baseman, 5) third baseman, 6) shortstop, 7) left fielder, 8) center fielder, and 9) right fielder. The numbers for the starters also correspond to how each position is number on the field. After the starters, the remaining numbers are given based on how important the player is to the team. Generally the numbers 10 and 18 are reserved for the second best/reliable pitcher and the pitcher that would become the next ace. In Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the number 18 is reserved for the ace pitcher rather than the number 1.


End file.
